I can tell it's almost a full moon...and Springtime...because things have been a tad crazy these past few days, with lots of emotional clearing! There's nothing better to dust and clean off for the new Spring weather than your inner self! (and I say Spring weather with a smirk, as we literally got a sick amount of snow this week).

Well, what to do when emotions are flying high? I say...cook some seaweed. Or rather, in my case, write about seaweed, at 1AM, with some tea in hand.

MM:Wakame - Another weed from the sea.

Wakame is a kind of seaweed, and one that you might be familiar with! It's delicious & nutritious. It's especially great for women, as it's a good source of calcium, magnesium & folate, along with many other vitamins & minerals. Here's the wakame I've been buying these days:

It's not nearly as delicious as the stuff I could find in Japan, but c'est la vie!

Really, I mostly just use it in three ways, although there are many more possibilities!

How I use Wakame:

1. Cooked in with rice.

This makes rice super delicious, and if you're keeping leftovers, I find that it helps the rice retain some moisture in the fridge. And of course, it adds some yummy minerals and green-in-a-good-way to your rice. {you can make brown rice in the pressure cooker like so or by boiling on the stovetop like so} . Yum, I seriously want some right now while typing this.

2. In Miso Soup.

I don't have a pic of it, but if you've eaten miso soup at a sushi place, you've experienced it! Wakame adds a wonderful deep flavour that compliments miso oh-so-well. This is not my photo, it's sourced from google images for your viewing pleasure, & if you click on the pic it'll take you to a delicious recipe for miso soup!

3. Seaweed Salad

If I can't get my hands on fresh wakame (it's kept cool in bags and covered in salt that you soak & rinse off, and often found in Korean markets), then I soak the dry stuff until soft---usually 5-10 mins. Then I chop chop chop it up. I dress it up with some lemon, shoyu, and toasted sesame oil, and a bit of sesame seeds. It's mega-delicious (the super old blurry photo does not affect the taste, I promise!). I loved living in Japan, because every grocery store deli had a wide variety of seaweed salads to munch on at a moment's notice.